FANS will be out of their seats at Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham in January.
And it won’t just be because they’re jumping to their feet to celebrate the first goals of 2022.
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Those clubs are set to host the first matches in which standing is legally allowed in over 25 years.
Terraces were abolished in favour of all-seater stadiums back in 1995 but that is set to change from January 1.
Manchester City and Cardiff are also reportedly joining the pilot scheme which will test out ‘safe standing’ protocols.
The Times reports those five clubs have been selected for trials of ‘rail seats’ – barriers to keep standing fans safely apart.
Exact details are yet to be confirmed by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority but those are expected to come next week.
Designated standing areas are set to be provided for home and away fans at the test venues.
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Numbers vary but Spurs are understood to have room for over 10,000 standing fans at their plush Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Other Premier League clubs are racing to join the move to safe standing.
Arsenal, West Ham and Wolves are understood to be seeking permission for standing zones in their stadiums by the summer.
The Safe-Standing Roadshow’s Jon Darch said: “Quite a few more clubs have it on the radar for next summer.”
Current restrictions mean the number of standing spectators will never exceed the number of seated fans.
In Germany rules allow for 1.8 standing fans to every one seated, with some stadiums such as Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park featuring a third a fans on their feet.
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